Red Out of Action
by Thunderbyrd
Summary: After a rather brutal battle from the future, a battered and beaten Red Action is left with three occurrences: a busted arm cannon, a shattered ego, and newfound respect for a certain hero-in-training. *One-Shot*


**Hello, everyone, I'm back with more OK K.O.! So, this one-shot is really just meant to be a sort-of bonding moment between Red Action and K.O., given their more friendlier relationship as shown in "Red Action to the Future", meaning that this fic is meant to take before sometime between S1's "Back in Red Action" and S2's "Red Action to the Future".**

 **In the end, this story is meant to highlight Red Action's bond with K.O., where it slowly blooms into a sort-of big sister/little brother role, something that I could honestly see happening along with Enid and K.O.'s own sister/brother relationship, so apologies if we don't get to actually see the actual battle.**

 **Still, hope you all enjoy reading anyways!**

 **OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes is owned by Ian Jones-Quartey and Cartoon Network. (I do not own any of its characters nor its properties. This is purely a non-profit fanfic made for fun).**

* * *

 **RED OUT OF ACTION**

It was a pleasant, calm day at the Lakewood Plaza. There had been no sign of a BoxMore 'Bot or any evil menace in sight for a little while, meaning that the plaza's patrons could shop, work, and hang out in peace and without fear.

The same applied to young K.O. as he merrily mopped the floors from inside the lobby of Mr. Gar's Bodega and Hero Supply. He was feeling particularly joyful today, for whatever reason that even he didn't know why, but either way, he seemed to have an extra spring in his step as he danced around the store, mopping and singing a little tune to himself without a care.

" _K.O., Rad, and Enid are in battle-mode! Punch and kick the bad guys 'til they all explode! Power up and fight, let's watch an episode of-_ "

" **K.O.!** "

The authoritative sound of Mr. Gar's voice immediately knocked K.O. out of his jaunty trance. The boy looked to see Gar's head sticking out from his office. K.O. saluted and stood of attention.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Gar, sir?" he asked.

"K.O., I need you to take out the trash from the back room and throw it away in the dumpster out back!" he ordered importantly, "Enid's out on break and Radicles is probably slacking off somewhere, so you'll have to do it!"

K.O. smiled broadly and gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up. "Right away, Mr. Gar!" he cheered, springing into action and ready to help.

Mr. Gar watched K.O. dash into the back room and nodded proudly. "Good work, son!" he smiled boldly before retreating to his office.

* * *

K.O. retrieved a large garbage bag filled to the brim with smelly trash from the back room and carefully waddled his way outside behind the building and towards the old dumpster, trying not to spill any of its messy contents. He finally made his way to the trash receptacle and summoning all his strength, he tossed the bag into the dumpster in one fell swoop.

The bag landed inside the bin with a loud clatter. K.O. dusted off his hands and smiled proudly.

"And that's how ya do it!" he chirped. Suddenly...

"Hey, watch where you're tossin' that! Ya nearly got garbage on me!" cried an irate, female voice.

K.O. nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard that voice. He looked around the area, wondering who was talking to him. K.O. gulped frightfully, as the wind sent chills down his spine.

"H-Hello…? A-Anyone here?" he asked nervously. This time, a pained groan rang out from close by.

"Over here, kid…" it replied, sounding like it was coming from nearby the dumpster. K.O. craned his head and looked next to the dumpster on its left side. There, he nearly stumbled over in surprise as he saw who the mysterious person really was.

"Red Action!?" he squeaked conceredly.

Indeed, there sitting on the ground close by the dumpster, was the Level 4, future-hopping hero Red Action. However, from what K.O. was looking at, he was beside himself with shock upon seeing the Hue Trooper in such a nasty state!

Her chest armor was cracked and had a big dent near her left breast area, some parts of her spandex pants had small rips and holes, and the arm cannon on her left wrist was completely busted to disuse, with her left arm itself being broken altogether. Non-fatal cuts, bruises, and scratches were also seen around Red Action's face, arms, stomach, and human leg.

Red noticed K.O.'s presence and tried fixing her disheveled hairstyle, trying not to show her discomfort.

"H-Hey, kid…" she groaned, clutching her broken arm in pain. K.O. gaped in horror at seeing Red looking so defeated and hurt like this.

Normally, Red Action was such a brave, powerful, and capable hero in her own right! To see her look so damaged and pained was enough for K.O. to want her help her out, and with Enid's out for the moment and Rad being Cob-knows-where, he knew he had to make sure she was okay. He slowly walked up to Red and kneeled down, looking very worried indeed.

"R-Red? A-Are you okay? What happened?" he asked softly. Red coughed again and tried to fight away her soreness.

"Ah...nothing much really…" she groaned passively, "Just a dumb battle that went sour was all…"

She slowly tried to get back up on her feet, but she feeling so sore that she could barely even try to stand again, so she sat back down with a groan. K.O. gave Red a sympathetic look, now really wanting to help her out more than ever.

"H-Hang on, Red! Don't move! I can help ya out!" he offered worriedly. Red looked at K.O. confusedly.

"Kid, you don't need to help! I'm fine, really!" she stated, but it was too late as K.O. rapidly sprinted back into the back room and came back out in mere milliseconds, holding a first aid kit in his arms.

"Don't worry, Red! Help is on the way!" cried K.O. as he rummaged inside the kit box for supplies. Red groaned once again as she tried to position her broken arm into a more comfortable angle, deciding to just go along with K.O.'s need to help.

Soon enough, K.O. assisted in cleaning away any spots of blood on her body, rubbing healing cream on her bruises, and giving her bandages to cover or wrap around her cuts. Red Action stayed still and let K.O. do his work to help heal her up.

When all that was done, K.O. then pulled out one last item from the med-kit; a sling for her broken arm. Making sure he was extra careful not to cause more pain to it, he helped wrap her arm in the sling until it was put on properly. K.O. stepped back and gave a relieved sigh.

"Finished!" he confirmed.

There sat Red Action, her cuts covered with band-aids and her bruises slowly healed up and her arm nestled in her new sling. In spite of her armor looking quite worse for wear, Red herself seemed to look more comfortable and at ease than before. Red noticed this too as she finally mustered the strength to stand back up again, looking down at her patched-up body and stretching her sore limbs.

She scanned K.O.'s handiwork and smirked softly, looking quite impressed. "Hmmm...not bad, kid...not bad at all…" she hummed, giving K.O. a thankful wink.

K.O. giggled and rubbed the back of his head. "Ahh, helpin' others is just what I like to do!" he chuckled humbly, before curiosity peaked his mind again.

"S-Say, Red? I'm sorry to ask, but...what did ya fight that made you end up like this anyways?" he asked meekly. Red, unsure of how to answer, tried to tiptoe around the question.

"Uhhh, y'know, just some dumb robot was all…" she tried to wave off with a shrug and a tilted smile. K.O. didn't seem all that convinced however.

"...Was it something to do with the Hue Troop?" he asked innocently. Red Action's eyes widened at the mere mention of her team's name, especially when it came out of _K.O.'s_ mouth of all people.

She turned towards him with big, confused eyes. "How do _you_ know about the Hue Troop!?" she asked in bafflement.

K.O. shrugged. "Enid told me about them after you guys went to the Danger Zone…" he explained casually. Red eased back her confusion and blushed slightly, almost forgetting about Enid's close friendship with the young hero.

"Oh...my bad…" she admitted sheepishly. K.O. smiled back kindly.

"It's okay! Still though, it must be awesome being with a team of super-cool futuristic warriors, protectin' the future and past from monsters... or robots...or...or _monster-robots!_ " he squealed, bouncing around like a cat hooked on catnip. Red Action's chuckled a bit at K.O.'s giddiness, even though she didn't really fully agree with his opinion.

"Psh, yeah, if ya like prancing around in spandex and doing dumb poses all day…" she joked with a smirk, but K.O. gave her a genuine smile.

"No, I mean it! Being in this Hue Troop sounds like a blasty-blast! You get to drive around in this awesome hover tank, you have cool arm cannons, and you prove to be both agile and powerful at the same time!" complimented the hero-in-training. Red blushed out of embarrassment from K.O.'s sincere words, but smiled regardless.

"Heh-heh...I guess it's a blast _sometimes_ …" she admitted good-naturedly. Then, her smile faltered into a small frown. "I just wish I was a more capable hero, though…"

K.O.'s enthusiasm turned to sadness and bewilderment upon hearing that bombshell drop. He carefully walked up to Red and placed a caring hand on her right arm.

"What do you mean, Red? You _are_ a capable hero!" he replied honestly. Red rolled her eyes at K.O.'s persistence and sighed sadly.

"Try telling that to the other Hue Troopers. I ain't sure Enid told ya this, but ever since I accidently shattered that crystal that Ren Bow entrusted us with, the others seem to see me as a reckless rogue...to be fair, I don't blame them…"

K.O. tilted his head and looked at Red sympathetically. "But...it was an accident, right?" he asked softly.

Red Action's mouth formed into a thin, unsure line. She twiddled her thumbs out of awkwardness. "I mean...yeah, it was an accident…" she stated, uncertain on how to feel right now. K.O. gave her a tiny smile and shrug.

"Well...then if it was an accident, then surely your teammates will understand, right?" he queried innocently. Despite, K.O.'s genuine concern and willingness to cheer her up, Red still didn't seem to feel any better as she sat back down on the ground, placing her right hand under her chin.

"...I kinda doubt that, kid…" she murmured with a dejected sigh.

K.O. frowned sadly at Red Action. For as long as he knew her, she wasn't the kind of hero to feel this low before. Regardless, he still wanted to help. He then sat next to Red and placed his hand again on her right cannon arm.

"Red Action?" he asked timidly. Red looked down to K.O. with an expected, but still glum look. K.O. coughed nervously before speaking.

"I know we ain't exactly close friends and I know what you did with that crystal-thingy was bad, but I'm sure everything'll be alright. When I started working at Mr. Gar's, I've made plenty of mistakes when trying to protect the plaza from Lord Boxman, but over time and with the help of my best friends, I still continue to my best to become a better hero every day. Everyone is capable of being a great hero, including you!"

Red managed to curve her mouth into a small, sad smile again from hearing K.O.'s somewhat-mature statement, but still had her doubts deep inside.

"That's nice of ya to think, K.O.," she said sincerely, "but my mistake is more...y'know... _bigger_ than your's, to be frank…"

She then held her head low, looking down at the ground with a sigh. However, what K.O. said next to her was enough to break her away from her mild depression.

"Just because you _made_ a mistake, no matter how big, doesn't mean you _are_ one…"

As those words slipped out of K.O.'s mouth, Red slowly brought her head back up and looked at K.O. with surprised, but confused eyes. K.O. stood sat by her side, his smile still bright and friendly.

"Every here sees you as a hero, Red. Me, Rad, your friends...and especially Enid. She always thinks you're awesome and she does cherish being your friend…" he explained truthfully.

Red Action's cheeks went as red as her armor upon hearing about Enid. She really did think she was an awesome hero?

"And I'm sure that your friends in the Hue Troop think the same way...and that they still think you'll be a great hero and that they will still love you regardless…" finished K.O. calmly, patting her cannon arm gently.

By now, Red almost felt the need to tear up. Here she was, all beaten down and feeling pathetic, now getting a pep talk from a young boy she used to blow away back when she first met him. But even then, his kind, sincere words were enough to finally begin to calm her mind and let her worries melt away with ease.

Red quickly wiped away tear pricking at her eye and gave K.O. a small grin. "...You really think that, kiddo?" she asked in a somewhat-touched voice.

K.O. nodded and gave her a friendly smile in return. "I don't _think_ , I _know_ …" he chuckled, trying to copy Red's own cat-like smirk in a playful manner.

His silly smirk enough for Red Action to burst into laughter as she gratefully pulled K.O. into a one-armed hug, with K.O. giggling alongside her. The laughter continued for a good minute until it died down and Red decided to speak up again.

"...Hey, kid…" she began, prompting K.O. to look at her. Red then gave K.O. a genuinely-happy smile and ruffled his hair gently. "Thanks for helpin' me out with everything…" she thanked in a soft tone.

K.O. smiled. "Eh, that's what heroes do is all…" he admitted humbly. Red shook her head and smirked.

"No, I mean it, kiddo...I've been kinda a jerk to ya for some time, and all you've done is try to help me out, especially when ya helped me with my hairdo when we first met...and I should have been more thankful to ya in the end…" Red explained, now feeling somewhat guilty for her actions from before. Still, K.O. kept his smile.

"It's okay, Red. Besides…" said K.O., now growing a slight blush on his own face, "...I-I kinda prefer this hairdo than your old one…"

Red snorted and was brought into another laughing fit again. She then calmed down and gave K.O. a sly smirk.

"Pssh, slow down, slugger." she joked with a mock-flirty tone, "At least buy me dinner first…"

The two laughed good-heartedly once again as Red suddenly thought of something. "Hang on! I gotta do this!" she exclaimed.

She then rummaged in her pocket to retrieve an item. K.O. grew confused until she pulled out her smartphone and quickly went into selfie-mode on the camera. She held it high in front of them with her finger on the shutter button.

"Say cheese, kid!" she stated. Without hesitation, K.O. smiled his biggest smile yet for the camera, while Red simply went with a "duck-lips" pose as the phone captured the photo perfectly.

The two admired and giggled at their friendly selfie before they both stood back up again, just as Red realized that she has somewhere else to be right now.

"Well, kid...it's been a blast, but I kinda have to head back to my time era now…" she said. K.O.'s face immediately fell upon hearing those words.

"Aww...already?" he asked sadly. Red chuckled and ruffled his hair again.

"'Fraid so, squirt. I got my team waitin' for me back at base." she smirked, thought K.O. still felt a bit sad. She knelt down and patted his arm with her hand.

"But hey, thanks again for helpin' me get back on my feet. I really appreciate it, kid…" she thanked as earnestly as she could be, which did help to bring a smile to K.O.'s face.

Red then got back up, pushed a button on her arm cannon, which then produced a Time Capsule from her belt. Red swiftly opened the capsule, revealing a square, swirling vortex opening up to lead Red Action back to 301X. K.O. gazed at the portal with wonder, just as Red strolled over to the vortex and gave K.O. a friendly, cool thumbs-up.

"See ya around, K.O.!" she smirked before she went through the portal, as it in turn disappeared out of sight, leaving behind a quiet, amazed K.O..

"...Wow…" was all that K.O. could utter as he was now alone behind the bodega, with the wind twirling around his body. His work day began with him taking out the trash, and it ended with him helping out a hero that he considered to be awesome and powerful with both her injuries and her personal problems.

But in the end, as Red Action was now back in her own timeline, K.O. was just happy to form a stronger bond with Red Action again...and he was truly thankful for that.

* * *

 **\- 301X - ONE MINUTE AGO -**

Yellow Technique paced around the corridor of their base, a stern, yet worried look on her wrinkled face. The other members of the Hue Troop stood by and tried to calm her frayed nerves.

"Yellow, I'm sure Red's fine…" assured Blue Power, "There's no need to fret over Red's condition! She's a tough fighter after all…"

"Regardless, she was injured in battle, Blue Power!" retorted Yellow, looking at the muscle-bound Hue Trooper with hurt eyes, "She should've and would've came back here to have her injuries treated well! She could've gotten killed by that Borg for Cob's sake!"

Black Strategy looked thoughtfully at her yellow armor-donning friend, looking just as perplexed herself.

"Still, broken arm or not, she'd clearly would've been back here by now. Her injuries weren't fatal beyond her arm..." she asked. Green Guts, who was leaning up against the wall, couldn't help but to chuckle.

"My guess she's probably seein' that chick she's always hangin' with in 201X...what was her name again? Edith? Edna?"

"Enid…" corrected Blue, "and I suppose that could be quite a possibility…" Yellow Technique groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Typical she'd leave us behind to galavant off in 201X yet again…" mumbled Yellow in a half-bitter, half-tired tone.

* **WHOOSH!** *

Just then, as if on cue, a time portal opened up in the hallway close by the fivesome of Hue Troopers, whom all gazed at the sudden portal with shock and baited breath. It was to all of their relief and joy when they saw the bandaged and broken-armed Red Action shamble out the portal and into her.

Red noticed her teammate's relieved and surprised expressions and flashed her trademark smirk.

"Did I miss anything!?" she joked. Black Strategy, Green Guts, and Blue Power immediately ran up to Red Action to check how she was doing and what exactly happened. Yellow sighed thankfully, but still looked stern-faced as the others threw questions left and right at Red Action.

"Red! You're back! Is everything okay?"

"Is your arm any better!? Who patched it up!? Is your cannon still functional!?"

"Do you feel any time-space anomalies? Were there any problems arising back in 201X?"

Red chuckled at her friends' reactions and gently eased them down. "Guys! Guys! No need to crowd! Everything's perfectly fine, honest!" she assured once the ramblings died down.

"I should hope not!" came a severe voice as Yellow joined their group, her brow wrinkling in annoyance, "Did you really have to head back to the past so fast while you were still injured!? You had us worried sick!" she snapped accusingly.

Red rolled her eyes and blew away some hair covering her face. "Cool your jets, Yellow, I was gonna return back afterwards. I just wanted to quickly see a friend for a second was all…"

Yellow scoffed and held her head, knowing fully-well who she was referring to. ' _Of course…_ ' she thought annoyedly.

"So it was Enid who patched you up then?" asked Black curiously. Red blushed slightly.

"Ehh...technically no. I came across her little friend, though. He helped me get up on my feet before I decided to return back…" she explained. Yellow Technique tilted her head and raised a partially-unamused eyebrow.

"Is that so?" she queried. Red smirked at Yellow and pulled out her smartphone.

"It _is_ so...check it out!" she stated, showing the selfie to the others. As the other Troopers caught glance of seeing Red and K.O.'s smiling faces together, they all smiled and d'aawwed at the cute selfie, especially looking at K.O.'s silly, but cute face. Despite this, Green Guts couldn't help but to smirk and snort.

"Pssh, wow, Red, who's this? Your kid brother or something?" joked Green playfully with a belly laugh. Red Action groaned tiredly and blushed softly.

"No, Green. He's just a friend of Enid's is all…" she countered. Black Strategy pursed her lips.

"Well, friend or not, he did try and help to attempt to keep your broken limb stabilized...although your arm cannon does need definite repair though…" noted Black. Blue Power chuckled.

"Yeah, ya gotta give him credit for that. Plus, he seems cute and harmless enough." commented Blue, nudging Green in the shoulder, who just responded with a pout and an arm cross. Red put away her phone.

"Well, either way, he came to help out, so I should be able to heal up pretty soon…" finished Red Action with a self-assured smirk. Yellow gazed at her teammate and groaned softly.

"Be that as it may Red, just please report to us next time if you are heading back to 201X again. You practically worried us to death!" Yellow stated in a stern voice. Red blushed yet again, this time out of mild timidity.

"Heh-heh, right…" she muttered, rubbing the back of her head, "Sorry I wound up bailin' on ya guys earlier. I'll try and be more attentive next time…"

Yellow raised an eyebrow in surprise. It wasn't exactly like Red Action to take responsibility for her actions. Even so, she still saw Red as a good ally and decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"...You promise?" she asked carefully. Red chuckled softly and to the surprise of everyone, she went up and gave Yellow Technique a friendly hug. Yellow's eyes were as big as dinner saucers, yet somehow, she didn't back away from the hug.

"...I promise…" was all that Red Action uttered until she let go of Yellow. "Trust me when I say I'm gonna try and be a more better hero from now on…"

With that sentence suddenly said, the others gaped in mild shock and all gathered around Red worriedly. Even Yellow, who was busy berating Red earlier, managed to put on a concerned face.

"Red, why would you think you aren't a good hero?" asked Blue Power softly.

"Yeah, you're an awesome hero!" agreed Green Guts. Red sighed and turned towards the group, knowing she'd have to spill the beans sooner or later.

"Well...I mean, because of the whole Ren Bow crystal situation, I figured you guys didn't see me as a hero as capable as you guys are…" she admitted, looking down at her feet with a rarely-seen shamed look on her face.

However, just as Red was going to assume that the other Hue Troopers were gonna agree with her statement about her not being as good as them, she then felt something gently pat her on the shoulder. She looked up to see Yellow giving her a shoulder pat, while she and the other Troopers gave Red kind and sisterly smiles. Yellow was the first to break the silence.

"Listen, Red. There may be times where you can be reckless and hot-headed, but you are still a vital member of our team and you are a hero through and through…" stated Yellow in a sincere, yet quiet tone. Blue Power nodded and was next to speak.

"Yellow's right," she agreed, "We all know you have the makings to be a great hero!"

"Indeed." smiled Black Strategy, "You are certainly a daring, powerful, and noble Hue Trooper, in spite of your past follies…"

"Yeah, I mean, who cares what some dumb crystal says?" chortled Green Guts, "You're our friend and that's that matters!"

And with all that said by her friends, Red Action found herself caught into a sisterly hug by the rest of her comrades. Red blushed softly and smiled at the gesture, wishing she could hug them back if not for her busted arm. Still, she honestly felt touched by their genuine words.

"...Thanks, guys...thank you all so much…" she murmured in their embrace.

"Anytime, Red," smiled Yellow with a proud smile, before turning into a slightly-more serious tone, "but seriously, though. If you're going back into the past, at least warn us before you go back…"

"Yeah, in case ya want to see your _little brother_ again!" teased Green with a giggle. She and the others giggled harder once they heard Red groaned out indignantly through their hug.

In spite of this, she sighed softly and pulled out her smartphone again, looking back at the selfie she took with K.O. earlier this afternoon.

Red Action smiled softly, now seeing the young hero-in-training in a new light. When she first met him, she only saw him as a nuisance and a dork, but ever since the kid went above and beyond to help her and her friends back in Lakewood with their own problems, she had slowly began to see the boy as something more than all that, even though she wouldn't admit it at the time.

Sure, he may not be on a higher level than she was, but if there was one thing that Red suddenly began to admire in K.O., it was that he was loyal, pure-hearted, and always willing to fight for what's right. With all these thoughts coursing through her mind, Green Guts' teasing words from before suddenly sprung back up again.

' _Wow, Red, who's this? Your kid brother or something?_ '

Red chuckled warmly as the others continued their hug. Although she wasn't sure if she'd go as far as to consider K.O. as a little brother figure as of yet, she certainly did see merit in him, as was now happy to consider K.O. as an ally from now on.

' _...Yeah...I guess he could be…_ ' was what Red Action thought in her mind, content to have a new friend in the form of K.O..

 **THE END**

* * *

 **Nothin' wrong with a Hue Troop cameo at the end, eh? ;)**

 **And so ends that for now, until I post another OK K.O. story during Christmas time! Thanks for reading and check out my other stories if you're new to my stuff! Have a pleasant day! :D**

 **~Thunderbyrd**


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